LIFE LESSONS THROUGH SERVICE
WINNING SPIRIT IN ACTION: MIKE GEORGE
At Primary Children’s Medical Center,
the philosophy is simple: The Child First
and Always. It influences every decision
made and how patients and families are
cared for. It is the philosophy that Mike
George, a ticket sales account executive for the Utah Jazz, has adopted as a
weekly volunteer at Primary Children’s
Hospital for the past eight years.
During the summer of 2005, Mike was
complaining to a friend about his daily
trials. His friend worked in HR at Primary
Children’s Medical Center, and suggested that he needed a reality check.
Knowing that Mike liked kids, she recommended that he volunteer and view his
own life with a fresh perspective.
Mike George volunteers several hours each week at Primary Children’s
Hospital in Salt Lake City, sharing his heart and his time with infants and
young children.
Each week is a different experience,
and to quote Mike and Forrest Gump’s
mother, “In a sense, ‘it’s like a box of
chocolates. You never know what you’re
going to get.’” The volunteers visit and
play with the kids, sometimes watching
movies or playing video games. Mostly,
the kids are grateful for the company.
The most enjoyable part of the experience for Mike is when he gets to hand a
baby or child over to the parents to take
home, and they express their appreciation for the service he has provided to
their child and family.
The hardest part of his volunteer
experience is visiting or playing with the
children that nobody comes to see. For
these kids, the only visitors they have
each day are the volunteers. They thrive
on the attention that Mike and the other
volunteers provide, and their faces light
up when they arrive. At the other end of
this joy is sadness when the shift ends.
Often, these kids will beg you to return
and cry when you can’t promise to be
there the next day. Mike admits that he
has shed tears a few times during his
drive home.
One of Mike’s most memorable
experiences was with a teenage boy
who had terminal cancer. They were
playing a video game on an Xbox, and
Mike’s old-school Atari experience was
no match for this tech-savvy teenager.
Mike felt bad for holding up the game,
but his friend would laugh and continue
to encourage him to improve. Mike was
inspired to see how he kept pushing
him to keep trying and not give up. The
young man died within a month, and
Mike is so grateful that he could spend
that time with him to see him happy and
having fun.
Mike’s service has not gone unnoticed
by those he works with. Clay Jensen,
senior vice president of tickets, suites
& clubs, shared his thoughts, “Mike
has always had a natural gift with
recognizing others who are in need. He
possesses a great sense of gratitude and
demonstrates it in all aspects of his life
through his actions.”
BEES CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY
As the new season of Salt Lake Bees baseball gets underway this April, the
team and community will celebrate a 20th anniversary. In 1994, Joe Buzas,
a former major league player and the owner of the PCL Portland Beavers,
moved the team to Salt Lake City. In March of 2005, the franchise was
purchased by Larry and Gail Miller, and the name of the team was changed to
the Salt Lake Bees later that same year.
In addition to celebrating an anniversary year, the team is also marking a
change in the name of the venue to Smith’s Ballpark.